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23 Years
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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Los Altos . Whether you are looking for beginner guitar lessons for your kids, or are an adult wanting to improve your skills, the instructors in our network are ready to help you now!
Instruments: Piano Guitar Keyboard Acoustic Guitar
My teaching experience dates back to high school, when I tutored fellow students in Mathematics. I went on to teach music at UC Santa Cruz as a member of the music department, including teaching an original course I developed entitled "Sound, Listening, and Consciousness". My dissertation research included inquiries into cognition, learning, as well as educational methods and the ways that humans learn. I have given talks about this work, and consider myself to be an educational professional, as well as a pedagogue. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar Organ
For beginner students who are pursing music on the tonal instruments, I typically start with learning the names of the notes on the instrument and the major scale in every key as it relates to the piano. For the bass guitar I start of with basic finger strength techniques and exercises while incorporating the major scale fingering form and Nashville numbering system for all tonal instruments. For voice, I start off by finding the range of the individual and then teaching warmup techniques while building the individuals technique through finding a song and learning how to sing along. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
For Piano: I usually start with the Alfred's Basic books and work my students through those lessons until they reach a point where I can begin to use other repertoire books with them to give them supplemental work. I always use scales as warm ups for the hands, even if they are very basic for new students. If someone is more experienced, I gauge their level of experience and interests to help determine exercises and repertoire. Read More
Instruments: Piano
I like to use supplementary materials if a method book isn't covering musical territory that the student wants to explore. Although I insist a student learn to read music, I encourage learning by ear and have helped students find a melody on the piano by ear rather than reading notes. Patience is my watchword but I will always encourage and document practice times. I tell the student, you can't achieve your music goals without practice, preferably every day. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
For beginning students I start with breathing. I ask the student if there's anything they're interested in learning and by the third lesson have chosen something for them to sing. In an hour long lesson there is typically a half hour warm up to introduce new concepts and reinforce old ones. The second half is spent working on music and utilizing the concepts we have just discussed. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin
I taught my students how to read music and how to play instruments. By the end of the school year, the students who were from 9-14 years old performed our own concert at California State University, East Bay. On my free time, I have also recorded music covers on my own, and jam with friends. Playing music is a great way to relax, and have fun! My goal is to share this skill and excitement to you! Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
Music has taken me to see places of the world I would have never been, music has given me some of the coolest jobs in my life. Playing organ for the San Jose Sharks NHL team was a dream come true, and I am still the youngest person to have held that job in the NHL. They still use all of my recordings. I went to the Virgin Islands last year to perform with a band on New Year's Eve, total paradise all to enjoy just for playing some music! Read More
Instruments: Trumpet
What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
Practice slowly and thoughtfully, and never mindlessly go through the motions. Don't let small mistakes pass you by--stop and fix them. In our day to day practice it can be frustrating because we often can't hear any improvements that might be happening. It is crucial to stay positive and engaged: making small improvements every day will turn into substantial, meaningful improvements over longer periods of time.
It is also paramount to constantly hear "the ideal sound" in our heads. Every time you play something, whether it's a fundamental exercise or a concerto, you should be hearing the best sound you can imagine in your head, and be constantly striving to match it.
When will I start to see results?
Improving one's musicianship requires patience and perseverance. One of the frustrating things about music is that it is difficult to hear our own progress from day to day. However, if you're practicing intelligently and diligently, the improvement is happening, even if you don't notice it. It is important to trust the process, and not let one rough day get you down. Trust your teacher, keep practicing, and the improvement will be there. A fun way to measure this is to record yourself practicing something, and then record it again in 3 months and compare--if you put in the time, you'll notice the difference.
Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
I was fortunate to have two great teachers during my formative years that provided me with great inspiration. One was my high school band director, and the other was my middle and high school private trumpet teacher. They were "old school," and they were tough on me, but they both instilled in me a great passion for music, as well as the ever-important idea that we must always serve the music. It is easy to get caught up in the vanity of making music--trying to impress our friends and colleagues, trying to show off--but at the end of the day we must always be trying to communicate with each other. This is the essence of music, no matter the style, genre, or culture.
Why did you choose your primary instrument?
I chose the trumpet because my Dad used to play it and I thought it looked cool. Such is the reasoning of a 9 year old. Fortunately, from the first day I played a note on trumpet I loved it. It's going on 20 years now since I began playing, and I still marvel at being able to make music. The trumpet is a wonderful and versatile instrument. We can soar over the band or orchestra, playing dramatic and powerful themes. But we can also play sensitively and beautifully, singing out beautiful melodies. And we can play any style of music we can think of, so there is never a shortage of creative outlets and new pursuits.
What is your dream piece to perform and why?
Mahler's 2nd Symphony, which is probably my favorite piece of all time. I first fell in love with orchestral music early in high school, when I joined my local youth orchestra. As a trumpet player new to orchestral music, I quickly discovered Mahler, who is a favorite composer to brass players everywhere. His music is epic, and the brass parts are amazing. Every conceivable emotion and character happens in a Mahler symphony, and the expressive possibilities are endless. This is especially true of his 2nd--it is 5 movements, around an hour and twenty minutes long, and is as powerful and impactful as any piece of music can be.
23 Years
Since We Started
41,456+
Happy Customers
10,769
Cities with Students
3,123
Teachers in Network
Trusted as the industry leader, for over 21 years the teachers in our network have been providing Piano lessons in Los Altos to students of all ages and abilities.
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